Personal Info
- Country of residence: Saudi Arabia
Information
Omar Abdel-Fattah Ahmed Al-Akkad (1927-2018) is a Palestinian -Saudi businessman [2] and a member of the Palestinian National Council . He managed and supervised several international financial institutions in the Middle East .
He was born in Jaffa [2] [5] in 1927. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical and mechanical engineering from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom . [5] He moved early to work in Saudi Arabia , where he headed several financial institutions such as the Saudi British Bank and the Arab Investment Company in Luxembourg and Switzerland . He also headed the Aggad Group , which was established in Saudi Arabia in 1975. Aggad owns many companies in Saudi Arabia and other countries, including the Aggad Investment Company, which is a company A Saudi holding company, founded in 1975, it also owns United Motors and the Arabian Tile CompanyMediServ Company, Al-Ahlia Company for Advanced Systems, Public Telecommunications Company Ltd., Riyadh Pharma Company, Sanad Insurance Company, and the Arab Palestinian Investment Company, which was established in 1994, [7] as well as the Gaza Electricity Company.
Birzeit University awarded Omar Akkad an honorary doctorate degree in economics in July 1995. [4] Akkad also contributed to several charitable projects in Palestine , such as the establishment of the Omar Akkad College of Engineering in 1984 at Birzeit University , [4] [9] He also donated the engineering workshops building Of which the first floor was built in 1984 and the second floor in 1995.
His profession
After working for a few years in the UK, he moved to Saudi Arabia in 1950 where he joined the Juffali Group as a Senior Manager. In 1975, he set out on his own and created what would become one of the leading investment groups in Saudi Arabia. He established more than 40 industrial and commercial projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, most of which still exist.
He founded the Aggad Investment Company (AICO) in 1975, and is the founder and former chairman of the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC).
The Wall Street Journal noted, "Akkad is considered one of the smartest and most professional managers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In a book about Arab merchants, British writer Michael Fields described him as" bold and impulsive, an intuitive decision-maker with a great head for details. “As a partner with other Saudi and foreign investors, Aggad has operated 23 factories spread across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” [10]
He was a founding shareholder and director of Investcorp Bank and a founding director of The Saudi British Bank while serving on the board for 20 years.
After the Oslo Accords, and having been historically supportive of Palestine, Akkad decided to establish an entity to invest and create job opportunities in his historical homeland, and thus established the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC).
Since its establishment, APIC has become one of the largest operators in Palestine, with more than 3,000 employees. APIC subsidiaries offer a broad range of products and services through distribution rights agreements with multinational companies that include Philip Morris International , Procter & Gamble, Kellogg 's , Hyundai Motor, Chrysler , Dodge , Jeep (car), Alfa Romeo , Fiat , Fiat Professional, XL Energy, Abbott , B-Brown , Eli Lilly & Associates, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, and Nivea , among many others.
APIC was registered in the British Virgin Islands in September 1994. In 1996, it was registered with the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy as a foreign private shareholding company, and became a foreign public shareholding company in 2013. In March 2014, APIC shares were listed on the Palestine Exchange. It has an authorized capital of US$125 million, and a paid-up capital of US$112 million as of December 2022.
his death
He died on February 1, 2018 in Canada .
Achievements and Awards
In the year 2018, the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas , awarded the great patriotic deceased, Omar al-Akkad, the Grand Star of the Jerusalem Medal , in appreciation of his giving, pioneering role, and distinguished national commitment, and a high appreciation for his biography and honorable struggle in defending his homeland, Palestine, the land, the people, and a just cause. The medal was received by His Excellency, the son of the deceased, Mr. Tariq Al-Akkad, and his wife.
Source
- Years in active
: From
To